Saudis’ Execution of A Religious Leader Unacceptable

SHAFAQNA- Speaking at a press conference on Sunday on the recent implementation of a nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, the president referred to the execution of prominent Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr by the Saudi regime and described it as unacceptable.

If someone has criticisms about lack of social justice in a country, his answer is not execution, Rouhani said.

“Killing a religious scholar and disrespecting a considerable section of the society is not something acceptable,” he added.

Saudi Arabia on January 2 executed Sheikh Nimr, among dozens of others. The execution ignited widespread international condemnation, from both political and religious figures.

President Rouhani also criticized the Saudi regime’s handling of the Mina disaster in September 2015 in which thousands of Hajj pilgrims were killed, as well as the Saudi aggression on Yemen that has left many innocent Yemenis dead.

Saudi Arabia has started a wrong path and it is necessary that it discontinue on this path, Rouhani went on to say.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the president referred to the resolution of the nuclear case through negotiations as a good model for settling regional issues.

Iran and six world powers (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) on July 14, 2015 finalized an agreement on Tehran’s nuclear program, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

On Saturday, January 17 Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and European Union’s Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini announced in a joint statement that the implementation of the nuclear deal has officially been started.